Drive for cream-separator.



W. E. RATHBUN.

DRIVE ron CREAM SEPARATORS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 6. I911.

Patented Oct. 15, 1918'.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

W. E. RATHBUN.

DRIVE FOR CREAM SEPARATORS.

APPLICATION mu) JULY 6. 1917.

Patented 0015.15, 1918;

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

MUN

, Milan,

also be usefully appli 'tions per sizes of separators.

WALTER E RATHBUN, F MILAN, ILLINOIS.

nmvn non. cum-summons.

' Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Oct, 1918,

Application filed July 8, 1917. Serial No. 178,896.

To all whom itmay concern:

Be it known that I, WALTER E. Rn'rrmun', a citizen of the United States,resldmg-at county of Rock Island, and State of Illinois, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Drives for Cream-Separators, ofwhich the following is a specification.

tain improvements in mechanisms or devices for driving cream separatorsand the like, although it will presengliy appear that it may for thedrivin of other devices than cream separators. owever. I have shown thefeatures of the present invention as applied to the driving of a creamseparator as a matter of convenience, and also because the saidfeatures. are pcculiarly adapted to this particular class of service.

The bowls of a. cream separator are driven at a very high rate of speedranging ordinarily from s'xor seven thousand revoluminute to twenty orthirty thousand revolutions per minute. This makes it necessary to use avery high ratio of multiplication of speed in the gearssmce the drivmgcrank or shaft will ordinarily run at from fifty to one hundredrevolutions per minute.

The use of power drives for this class of work is coming rapidly intofavor and particularly so in connection with the larger Where thedriving torque 1s perfectly uniform as in the case of an electric motoror the like, there is no 'dificulty encountered in the operation of thespeed multiplication earing, and where electric motors or the li e areused power drives can be very satisfactorily applied. This has not beentrue, however, as regards the application of power from a gas engine orsimilar prime mover in which there is a considerable variation of torquein different portions of the operating cycle. If the gas engines were tobe direct y connected to the main driving shaft of a cream separator,the gears of the separator would in all probability be stripped ordamaged, because it would be impossible for the bowl to follow thetremendous changes of speed corresponding to the fluctuations in thespeed of the gas engine multiplied by the gear ratio.

The present invention has to do with a construction of driving mechanismwhereby the variations in the torque of the motor The presentinventionhas to do with cerand can be instantly'taken up by a spring orother resilient element, so that a practically constant drivin eifort isapplied to the mam shaft of t e separator. Another feature of theinvention has to do with the pro- VlSlOll of a construction such thatnot only can the foregoing result be attained, but also the device maybe used as an ordinary hand drive, when desired.

The torque or force which must be applied tothe main shaft is generallyan indication' of the mechanical condition of the separator and itsgearing. If the torque be abnormally large, there is an indication ofundue friction or resistance either in the bowls or in the gears. Thisshould be a danger signal to the operator and should cause him toinvestigate in order to locate the sourceof the trouble. Another featureof the invention has to do with the provision of a suitable indicatorfor showing momentarily and instantly the exact relative amount oftorquebeing applied from time to time so that the operator has alwaysbefore-him an indication of the relative mechanical condition of themachine.

Other objects and uses of the invention will appear from a detaileddescription of the same which consists in the features of constructionand combinations of parts herei-nafter described and claimed.

Referring to the drawings Figure lshows in perspective a view of asimple form of cream separator having applied thereto a power driveembodying the features of the present invention;

Fig. 2 shows a back facegview of the power driving arm and associatedparts;

. Fig. 3 shows a cross section partly in elevation of the constructionshown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 shows a detail section taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3, lookingin the direction of the arrows. I

Referrin first to Fig. 1, the separator therein in icated is designatedin its entirety by the numeral 5. It includes a main shaft 6 whichcommunicates with the rotating bowls through a train of gearingcontalned in the stand 7. Inasmuch as I am not particularly concernedwith the construction of a separator or this train of gearing, 1 willnot further describe these features. Sufiice it to state that the shaft6 is the main shaft on which the power is to be applied.

is rotated .driven forward, but whereby when the stub Ordinarily a crankis applied to the main "shaft 6 when the machine is to be driven by handpower. In order to permit of the use of the present device either byhand or crank is provided on its inner end with'a hub 10 mounted on astub shaft 11. This stub shaft in turn has a socket 12 at its inner endto receive the protruding ortron of the main'shaft 6, to which the s aft11 may be keyed as by means of a pin 13. On the extreme end of the stubshaft 11 1s a neck 14 onto which may be slid a collar 15 which may bepinned to the neck by means of a pin lfi soaS to hold the hub 10 inplace on'the stub shaft.

Means are provided. whereby when the crank8 is rotated, the stub shaftwill be shaft rotates under power'drive, the crank remaining stationary,the stub shaft may run-ahead of the crank. The particular meansillustrated for accomplishing this result includes a cam notch 17 formedin. the.

stub shaft 11 receiving a pin 18 working in a recess of the hub 10 underthe influence of a spring-19. The pin engages the abrupt side of the camnotch, so that when thehub the stub shaft will be driven, but the stubshaft can run ahead of the hub 10. Agear 20 is keyed or otherwisesecured to the-stub shaft and rotates with the same. A jack shaft 21extends through a suitable journal in the crank 8, and a pinion 22 onthe inner end of the said jack shaft meshes with the gear 20. On theouter end of the jack shaft is a pulley'or other driving device 23 bywhich the power drive is applied when desired. By rotating the pulley 23in the direction of the arrows in Figs. 2and 3,

the main gear 20 will be driven in the forward direction as shown by itsarrows. Now when ower is applied through the medium of t e pulley 23 andjack shaft 21,

there is a tendency for the pinion '22 to climb backward around the gear20. This will create a tendency for the crank 8 to rotate in the backdirection, as shown by the arrow 24 in Fig. 2. This tendency of thecrank to rotate must be resisted. Such resistance is secured through themedium of .a spring in a scale 25, one end of which scale is connectedto a 111 26 on the crank 8, and'the' other end of w ich scale isconnected to a stationary part 27 on the frame of the separator. Thespring constitutes a yielding element which permits the crank arm 8 tofluctuateor vibrate back and forth in order to take up momentaryvariations or changes in the driving torque, and the scale itself givesan indication as to the exact amount of torque being exerted. Ordinarilythe indication of the scale will be relative is greater or less thannormal, If desired,

the scale may give the reading directly in pounds or other units offorce.

When the 'machine is being driven by power a belt. 28 may be convementlypassed over the pulley 23, or any other suitable driving connection maybe eflected, as bymeans' of a chain or the like.

A cover or pan 29 having a peripheral flange 30 is .illustrated, thesame covering the gears and serving to that extent to eliminate dangerof accidents.

While I have herein shown .and described only a single embodiment of myinvention, still it will be understood that I do not limit myself to thesaid embodiment except I .as I may do so in the claims.

on the said stub-shaft, means for drivingly locking the crank to thestub shaft when the crank tends to run ahead of the stub shaft,

and for permitting the stub shaft to run ahead of the crank, a gearsecured to the stub shaft, a jack shaft journaled in the crank,

a pinion on the jack shaft meshing with the gear, a driving connectionon the jack shaft,- a yieldable connection from the crank to astationary part permitting the crank to-yield resiliently when power isapplied to the power drive connection, and an indicator in saidyieldable connection for the purpose specified.

2. The combination with the main driving shaft of a cream separator, ofa crank,

a riving connection from the crank to the driving shaft for drivin saidshaft when the crank tends to run a ead of the shaft, and for permittingthe shaftto run ahead of the crank, a main gear drivingly connected tothe shaft, a jack shaft journaled in the crank, a pinion on the jackshaft meshing with the main gear, a driving connection on the jackshaft, and a resilient connection from the crank to a stationaryjpartpermitting the crank to yield under variations of torque for the purposespecified.

' '3. The combination with the operating mechanism of a cream separator,of a crank, a driving connection from the crank to said operatinmechanism for transmitting a driving orce from the crank to theoperating mechanism when the crank tends-to run ahead of the operatinmechanism and for permitting the operatlng mechanism to run ahead of thecrank, a gear, an operative connection from said gear to the operatingmechanism, a jack shaft on the crank, a pinion on the jack shaft meshingwith the gear, a iving connection on the jack shaft, and a resilientconnection from the crank to a stationary part permitting the crank toyield under-Variations of driving force, for

the purpose specified.

4. The combination with the operating mechanism of a cream separator, ofa swing- 5 ing arm, a driving connection from said arm to the operatingmechanism ,for transmitting a-driving force from the arm to the op'era'ting mechanism when the arm tends to run ahead of the operatingmechanism, and

10 for permitting the operating mechanism to rim ahead of the arm, agear drivinglyhon- 'nected' to the operating mechanism, a pinion carriedby the arm and meshing with the gear, a driving connection for saidpinion, andayieldable connection from the arm to a stationary partpermitting the arm to-swing under variations pf drivmg force, for thepurpose specified.

WALTER E. RATHBUN.

